"How can we save him!" Grandpa Chu grabbed Chu Chu's hand and pressed it to Xiao Jin Yu's wrist, "Feel this yourself! What kind of pulse is this!"
"Please save him... save him!"
Seeing Chu Chu crying like a fountain, Grandpa Chu gritted his teeth, shot a reproachful glance at Xiao Jin Yu, then turned to Grandma Chu, "I don't have the skill... quickly fetch Doctor Qin!"
Chu Chu cried even harder, "Doctor Qin is evil! He was found in Doctor Qin's cellar..."
Grandpa Chu and Grandma Chu exchanged stunned looks, "What exactly happened?"
Tearfully gazing at Xiao Jin Yu who lay as still as a statue, Chu Chu sobbed, "I don't know either... Grandpa, please save him, I beg you to save him..."
Grandpa Chu frowned in distress and heaved a deep sigh, "Don't beg me, I truly can't help... I've never seen anyone survive with their body ruined like this. With his organs and meridians destroyed like this, he won't even last through the first half of tonight..."
"He will survive!"
In her panic, Chu Chu suddenly remembered Jing Yi's words. She rushed to the medicine chest and rummaged through it, pulling out a bottle labeled "Mind-Calming Powder." She poured some white powder from the bottle into a teacup on the table, mixed it with water, and was about to feed it to him when Grandpa Chu snatched the cup away before she could even lift him up. His face darkened, "Stop this nonsense! In his condition, how could he possibly drink? Even if he could, it would be useless... His organs and meridians are injured, don't you understand?" Grandpa Chu looked at Xiao Jin Yu with a mixture of reproach and pity, his voice softening, "If you want to stay with him, then stay. Just don't torment him further..."
Grandpa Chu raised his hand as if to toss the medicine away, hesitated, then firmly placed the cup back on the table. He sighed heavily and walked out.
Grandma Chu came over and drew Chu Chu into her embrace, tenderly stroking her tear-streaked face, "Talk to him, he can hear you... Don't cry. If he must go, send him off happily, alright..."
Chu Chu abruptly broke free from Grandma Chu's arms, "I won't let him go!"
"Chu child..."
"I just won't let him go! If you won't save him, I'll save him myself!"
Watching Chu Chu fiercely wipe her tears and grab the teacup from the table again, Grandma Chu felt as if a knife had pierced her heart. These words... she herself had spoken them decades ago...
Grandma Chu's voice trembled slightly, "Chu child, his stomach is weak. Add some hot water to the medicine..."
Chu Chu froze in surprise. Grandma Chu turned and brought in the kettle from the stove, adding some hot water to the cup. She helped prop up Xiao Jin Yu's cold, limp body, "Pry his mouth open. Be resolute and pour it all down at once."
Chu Chu stared blankly at Grandma Chu who had suddenly changed her mind, "Grandma..."
Grandma Chu looked down at the unresponsive Xiao Jin Yu resting in her arms and sighed softly, "Try it... He can't bear to leave you, his heart aches for you. Perhaps he won't go after all..."
Biting her lip, Chu Chu nodded firmly. She pinched Xiao Jin Yu's thin, slightly sunken cheeks, forced open his tightly clenched teeth, and poured the medicine down his throat in one go.Just as Chu Chu's heart sank upon seeing the medicine she had just poured into his mouth immediately trickle out from the corner of his lips, she noticed his Adam's apple bob with a significant movement. "Grandma! He swallowed it! He swallowed it!"
"Good, good..."
After waiting a while and confirming his breathing had indeed grown stronger, Chu Chu quickly prepared another cup and fed it to him. Xiao Jin Yu managed to swallow most of it. As she wiped the residue from his lips, contemplating whether to give him another dose, his eyes slowly opened. His bloodless lips parted slightly, and he emitted a faint, groan-like sound from his throat. Yet Chu Chu heard it clearly—he had struggled to utter a single word: "Chu."
Chu Chu felt that, in all her life, this was the most beautiful pronunciation of her name she had ever heard.
☆ 60 Four Happiness Meatballs (Part 19)
Chu Chu threw herself into Xiao Jin Yu's arms, clutching him as tightly as if he were a long-lost treasure rediscovered—so tight it seemed he had become a part of her, inseparable forever. "I knew you'd wake up! I just knew..."
Grandma Chu's nose stung, and her eyes reddened. "I'll go heat some more water..." she said, wiping her eyes as she turned and left the room.
Pinning Xiao Jin Yu to the bed, Chu Chu wept uncontrollably while covering him with frantic kisses.
Xiao Jin Yu frowned slightly, turning his face away with effort. His chest rose and fell uneasily. "Don't... I'm filthy... very filthy..."
He truly wasn't clean—covered in dust and grime, his body carrying an unpleasant mix of blood, sour sweat, and the foul stench of decaying corpses. Yet Chu Chu paid no mind, kissing him recklessly. She tore open the clothes wrapped around him, pressing her lips to every inch of his skin. Initially trembling, Xiao Jin Yu gradually stilled under her storm of kisses and caresses, gazing at the young girl—once again terrified because of him—with guilt and tenderness.
Chu Chu kissed his pale, cold body over and over until it grew warm beneath her lips. It wasn't until she kissed his right hand for what felt like the dozenth time that she realized his hand had been clenched tightly all along, his knuckles white and trembling faintly.
Suddenly snapping back to reality, Chu Chu hurriedly pulled the quilt over them, wrapping both him and herself inside. Clutching him tightly under the covers, she murmured, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to bully you, didn't mean to hurt you... I love you, I missed you... I was scared..."
With her face pressed against his chest, he couldn't see her expression, but large, scalding tears fell onto his skin. Even without looking, he could imagine how brokenly she was crying.
Hearing Chu Chu's incoherent apologies, Xiao Jin Yu felt a pain radiating from his heart, twisting his insides into knots. He hated seeing her cry most of all, yet time and again, he was the one who ended up making her weep...
He wanted to wipe her tears away, to hold her, to kiss her—but he couldn't summon even a shred of strength. None of it was within his power.
All he could manage was a soft whisper, "It doesn't hurt... It's alright..."
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